The Bench of Wisdom: Best seat on the boardwalk

OCEAN GROVE, NJ (CHASING NEWS) -- There's a place on the Jersey Shore called "The Bench of Wisdom." It's not really a bench. It's a group of chairs. Seated in them are the sages of the Ocean Grove boardwalk.

Gathered there one day recently were Chris the fish, Dominic the saint, Marie Antoinette, Jane the nurse, Jerry the hat, Paul the opossum, Dave the joker, Jerry the camera, and the godfather.

"We meet on a daily basis, weather permitting, to solve the problems of the world. And to sleep," the godfather explained.

"I just want to say that's all a lie," the opossum countered. "It started when we escaped from Marlboro (psychiatric hospital) and they don't know who we are. And that guy right there is the No. 1 psycho."

Now every boardwalk seems to have a group of characters who hang out and kvetch, but the Bench of Wisdom takes it to a new level.

It started some 30 years ago among a group of WWII veterans. All the original members have passed away and there are small tokens and memorials to some of them scattered around. There's even a story that the remains of one may be interred in the flower bed just off the boardwalk. When you come to the bench of wisdom you sign in on a rock.

So what kinds of wisdom can one find?

"Is it OK for a vegetarian to eat animal crackers?" the opossum wondered.

Noticeable was that no one was checking their phones. They talk face to face. And just sit. Sit and chill, slow down, sit with a friend, and laugh. And that is some wisdom there.